Breaking news on the Great Helmet Caper. Bad news about a Coog.

Add one more UH football player to the list of victims in the Great Helmet Caper.

UH linebacker Marcus McGraw had 19 tackles in a 29-28 victory against Texas Tech on Saturday, but he couldn’t corral his helmet during the chaotic celebration on the field after the game.

“I kind of tossed it up in the air,” McGraw said with a rueful smile, “and …”

Away it went, into a red sea of fans.

“I tried to look for it in the pile,” McGraw said. “I said, `You know what, somebody might return it.’ I told the equipment manager, `I don’t know what happened, but my helmet is out there somewhere.’

“The helmet had been fitting good. It was a good helmet. But I’m not going to let it affect my play. You just have to get re-fitted and move on. I’m sure somebody has it as a souvenir.”

Receivers A.J. Dugat and James Cleveland and guard Jordan Shoemaker lost their helmets in the confusion of thousands of fans swarming the field after the game. Cougars receiver Tyron Carrier said he nearly had his helmet taken but managed to recover it. Carrier watched with some amusement as a fan snatched a helmet from Dugat, a freshman from Dayton.

“Dugat was trying to chase the guy,” Carrier said. “It was funny. It was so funny.”

It turns out Dugat is better running away from people than catching them.

“(The thief) was weaving through the crowd,” Carrier said. “We have to recruit that guy. He’s pretty fast.”

Though UH coach Kevin Sumlin made a light-hearted plea to the culprits to return the stolen objects, none of the helmets had turned up as of Tuesday.

Former UH defensive tackle Alfred Oglesby died this past weekend in Houston. Oglesby, who lettered at UH from 1987 to 1989, was 42.

He made the all-Southwest Conference second team in 1988 and first team in 1989. A third-round draft choice in 1990, Oglesby played in the NFL six seasons for four teams (Dolphins, Packers, Jets, Bengals).

“He was real friendly, outgoing and loved all his teammates,” former UH defensive line coach Ben Hurt said. “He never one time gave us one problem about anything. He went all out on every play. He was great on the pass run and great against the run. He was something else. Those guys will make a good coach out of me and you both.

“He was a horse.”

Though the Run-and-Shoot got most of the headlines, Oglesby was part of a formidable UH defense. Two other members of the defensive front while Oglesby was at UH, Craig Veasey and Glenn Montgomery, also played in the NFL. The Cougars went 9-3 and 9-2 in Oglesby’s final two seasons.

“They were great players and they wanted to be great,” Hurt said. “They had great character. They were just great players who went all out.”